On Monday May 14, 2012, Curren$y took over Alife in NYC to hold an exclusive listening session for his upcoming album “The Stoned Immaculate.” The event was hosted by Shaheem Reid and numerous guests were in attendance including Stalley, Shiest Bubz, Skyzoo, Audra The Rapper and Miss Info. Click through this slideshow to see exclusive photos from the night’s event. All photos by Bernard Smalls.

With Houston being on the mind of the general public when it comes to Hip-Hop, most people don’t consider Dallas as a budding Hip-Hop melting pot. Luckily, they have Dorrough to help change that culture, and he’s been doing it since the release of his massive hit, ‘Ice Cream Paint Job’ back in 2009.

Two studio albums and four mixtapes later, he’s back again with his latest and fifth effort, Highlights. While putting in some face time during his visit to New York, he stopped by our office to talk about his new project, the city he helped to put on the map from a Hip-Hop standpoint, and a lot more. (Original footage shot by Marvin Harris)

Right now in this day and age of Hip-Hop, seeing an MC of the Caucasian variety isn’t such a big deal, because it has become more of the norm.

One of the artists that helped to really spearhead the movement in the early 2000’s was Memphis native, Patrick Lanshaw; better known to his fans as Lil Wyte.

Signed to Hypnotize Minds back 2002, Lil Wyte released his Doubt Me Now debut in 2003, with Three 6 Mafia’s DJ Paul and Juicy J handling all of the production duties.

From there, he went onto release four more albums; in addition to three of them successfully landing respectable spots on the music charts, he also garnered more praise for his artistry.

Now with just under 10 years in a game that guarantees no longevity, the head of Wyte Music gears up to release his sixth studio album, Still Doubted in June.

iHipHop had a chance to catch up with the longtime Three 6 Mafia affiliate to discuss the love/hate relationship of the Internet, being compared to other white MC’s, having full creative control for the first time ever, and plenty more.

iHipHop.com: You’ve been off the grid for a little bit… So what do you have new cooking?

Lil Wyte: I’m recording a new album, and it’s dropping in June called Still Doubted… There’s going to be Three 6 Mafia production, of course… I’m also working with a couple of new young producers… I started my own label, Wyte Music a couple of years back, and I released two albums through it. One of them was Sno: Year Round with Jelly Roll… I also signed Shamrock, who won The White Rapper Showon VH1… Besides that, I’ve just been grinding man…

iHipHop.com: With the name of your upcoming project being called Still Doubted, is that how you feel about your career up to this point? As if people still doubt you?

Lil Wyte: Not really doubting my career, because I know that I’m not doubted… But with Doubt Me Now, my first album being everyone’s favorite— and when I drop this album it would’ve been 10 years since Doubt Me Now… So now it’s kind of like a question: “Am I still doubted?” That’s pretty much how I went about it…

iHipHop.com: With this being your sixth studio album, has the creative process gotten easier or harder?

Lil Wyte: Well, the cool thing about this album is that I told [DJ] Paul and Juicy [J] that I wanted to put this album out through my label; Wyte Music… They told me to do what I do, and that they were still going to help me promote it and all of that…

So they gave me all creative control, and this is actually going to be my first album where I have full creative control… So I’m going to have a lot more fun with this album… There are a few topics that I really wanted to touch on for years…

But being with [DJ] Paul and Juicy [J] on the Three 6 Mafia label—there’s a certain formula that you have to stick by… There’s going to be a lot more production from other people rather than just from Three 6 Mafia…

I rap about different sh!t on other people’s beats… [DJ] Paul and Juicy’s beats just bring out that gutter stuff… I’m going to have a lot of good features on this album, and there’s going to be some surprises…

iHipHop: With this huge influx of white MC’s; people like Yelawolf, Action Bronson, Mac Miller, Asher Roth, MGK (Machine Gun Kelly), and so on; does it bother you when people are quick to group you in with them?

Lil Wyte: I just said this on the Twitter the other day; I think it’s amazing that are enough white rappers out there for us actually to be getting compared to each other now [Laughing]… I think it’s funny, I really do… I’m actually a huge fan of Yelawolf, and I’m a huge fan of Rittz… I kicked it with those guys down in Atlanta, and they’re cool people…

They both came up to me, and was saying when I album dropped, they were in their Chevys riding around in the ‘hood bumping it… All the ‘hood white rappers give me my props… So being grouped in doesn’t get under my skin; it really don’t… If they’re doing this music the wrong way; then of course… But as long as they’re doing it properly, it’s cool…

iHipHop.com: What’s your take on the Internet? Has it helped or hurt the artist?

Lil Wyte: It’s one of those love/hate relationships… Doubt Me Now dropped in ’03, so I was able to get that last little group of people that actually went out and bought CD’s… So that’s why Doubt Me Now has over 350,000 copies sold to date… That was with little promo, and no video… That was just word-of-mouth that the CD was dropping… But as the years went on, everyone’s album sales dropped because of the Internet…

But with me, I’ve slowly figured out how to use the Internet to my advantage… I keep on Twitter; “Yo, I’m in Atlanta, what’s going on tonight?” Next thing you know, you’re in the studio with God knows who because of the Internet…

So it does hurt sales-wise, but when it comes to social networking, and really getting your music to a wider audience; it makes sense… I’ve made so much money off FaceBook and Twitter… They just hit me up: “I need a show, how much do you charge?” You just have to know how to use it for you…

On Saturday March 17, 2012 iHipHop, Babygrande and The Madbury Club put on a one of a kind SXSW showcase at Haven in Austin, Texas. Thousands left happy after witnessing the legendary GZA of Wu-Tang Clan perform alongside Grammy Award winning Latin funk band, Grupo Fantasma (Brownout). In addition to this monumental performance, Jet Life, Marz Lovejoy, Flatbush Zombies, T. Mills, The Airplane Boys and Mod Sun all took the stage to deliver incredible showings, while DJ Statik Selektah held down the wheels of steel for the evening. For those in attendance, click through this slideshow to relive this eventful occasion, and for those who couldn’t make it, click through to check out some tremendous photos from the showcase. All photos by Lucas Alvarado / Far Fetched Future. Copyright 2012 Gadfly Communications, Inc.

Right now, the house that Eminem built, better known as Shady Records has a new set of faces with a new name; Shady 2.0.

But before the 4-headed monster recognized as Slaughterhouse, and the rapid-fire specialist, Yelawolf all signed their government names onto Shady contracts; the original stable of verbal assassins included one Obie Trice. Read More

Southpaw, one of the most infamous venues in all of New York City, located in Park Slope, Brooklyn, hosted one of its final hip-hop shows on February 9, 2011. The show was headlined by Action Bronson and featured performances by Mr. Mutherf*ckin eXquire, Kyle Rapps and Soul Khan, as well as special guest appearances by acclaimed producer and spitter El-P, Smoke DZA, Despot, and many more. Click through to view performance and backstage photos from this historical event. All photos by YAHWEHone. Copyright 2012 Triumph Media Holdings, Inc.

To say Marz Lovejoy has had an incredible 2011 would be an understatement. Opening the year on the heels of the release her debut EP, “This Little Light Of Mine,” Marz performed alongside Wu-Tang Clan and Erykah Badu at SXSW, putting on a show that New York Times’ writer Jon Pareles described as “among the best” at the festival. In October, she put on yet another stunning performance and stole the show at the A3C Hip-Hop Festival in Atlanta. She went on to win over crowds while opening for M.O.P. at CMJ and by opening for Curren$y, The Jets and special guest Wiz Khalifa at the “Jet World Order” album release party in November.
This year, she also made her feature film debut in director Sheldon Candis’ “LUV,” appearing amongst an all-star cast including Common, Danny Glover, Meagan Good, and Michael K. Williams. The film has been selected to compete in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. On the experience, Marz commented, “I’m very grateful and humbled by this opportunity. I got to be around creative professionals such as Common and director sheldon Candis who exposed me to new experiences and made my first film performance feel as natural as being myself. I’ll be honing in on this new love of mine as time progresses…and going to Sundance is really the cherry on top, I get to go to Sundance with a purpose, that’s exciting! ” Producers Gordon Bijelonic and Datari Turner added, “Marz Lovejoy is an incredible new talent and we look forward to working with her on more films in the future.” The 2012 Sundance Film Festival will take place January 19 through January 29 , 2012 in Park City, Utah.

Sign up for mobile SMS alerts

(e.g. 2223334444 no dots)

Msg&data rates may apply. To unsubscribe, text STOP to 313131 (393939 in Canada). For help text HELP anytime. Available in USA & Canada. Up to 5 msg/mo. Your privacy is always protected and your information will not be shared.